Christian Courtin-Clarins

TITLE Chairman since 2000 of Clarins, the company his father, Jacques, founded in 1954.

HIS MANTRA “I like to compare cooking and skin care: if you don't have your hands in the kitchen, you can't pretend to be an expert chef.”

HOW IT ALL STARTED As a medical student in Paris, Courtin-Clarins' father began treating circulatory problems with massage and noticed an improvement in his patients' skin. He decided to focus his research on improving the way his patients felt and looked, eventually opening the Clarins Instituts de Beauté. What started as a few botanical body oils has become a $1...